Video games thrash movies and DVDs

By Asher Moses

January 20, 2009 — 10.50pm

The video games industry is now double the size of the box office and more than 40 per cent larger than the movie disc industry in Australia, thanks to explosive growth in social games that allow the whole family to play.

The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) today released figures showing games industry revenue was $1.96 billion in calendar year 2008, an increase of 47 per cent from the previous year.

Box office takings for the same period were up 6 per cent to $946 million, the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia said. Total revenue for movies sold on disc grew 5 per cent to $1.4 billion, the Australian Visual Software Distributors Association (AVSDA) said.

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Ron Curry, chief executive officer of the IEAA, said gaming had evolved from "the guy sitting in his bedroom with his PC being anti-social" to a "much more social and a whole family event".

He cited recent research from Bond University showing that 68 per cent of Australians played video games and 88 per cent of houses had a gaming machine.

"We've seen a 137 per cent increase in family games - things like music and dance games, party games, puzzle games, that sort of stuff is really making up the bulk of the dollars," he said.

Simon Bush, chief executive officer of AVSDA, said he did not see the games industry as "competition or a threat at all".

"In fact, they're complementary in many ways - movies come out and often there's a complementary game that's put out," he said.

The top-selling DVD in 2008 was the Underbelly boxed set, which Bush said indicated that locally produced drama could compete on equal footing with US shows.

Sony Computer Entertainment managing director Michael Ephraim said: "It's clear now that the [games] industry is the nucleus of entertainment - it has come out of the bedroom, into the living room, and on to every kind of device, and we're going to see another few years of considerable growth."

Steve Wilson, chief executive officer of games retailer EBGames, said 2008 "was still very much Nintendo's year". The Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS dominated the market, followed by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively, which were neck and neck.

Wilson said the Wii's success was largely due to the fact that Nintendo continued to churn out family-friendly games such as Wii Fit and Mario Kart. For hardcore gamers, Grand Theft Auto IV was the standout performer.

"Most, if not all of the games [on Nintendo Wii] are multiplayer and more social than previously, where it's been more of a singular activity," he said.

Wilson said the PlayStation 2, which can now be had for $130, continued to sell well thanks to social titles such as karaoke game SingStar ABBA and quiz game Buzz.

While most industries are bracing themselves for a tough year as the global economic downturn saps consumer spending, the games industry expects its solid growth to continue as budget-conscious consumers stay home and seek out more affordable entertainment.

"We believe that we're more recession proof than most," Wilson said.

"People still want entertainment, even in tough times, and we're a bit more affordable than a lot of other forms of entertainment. The average game, particularly the family friendly multiplayer games, will last you hundreds of hours for a relatively small outlay."